About SHARP

The SHARP Story

SHARP, the Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls, was established in 2010 as a new partnership between the Women’s Sports Foundation and University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology and Institute for Research on Women & Gender. SHARP’s mission is to lead research that enhances the scope, experience, and sustainability of participation in sport, play, and movement for women and girls. Leveraging the research leadership of the University of Michigan with the policy and programming expertise of the Women’s Sports Foundation, findings from SHARP research will better inform public engagement, advocacy, and implementation to enable more women and girls to be active, healthy, and successful.

SHARP’s Mission

The mission of SHARP is to lead research that enhances the scope, experience, and sustainability of participation in sport, play, and movement for women and girls.

SHARP’s Goals:

1. The SHARP Center will be the leading research center the area of sport, health, and activity for women and girls across the lifespan. SHARP will conduct and promote research . The objectives of the SHARP Center in this area are to:

2. Promote an environment to support investigators focused on sport, health and activity for women and girls

3. Translate research findings to make results applicable to relevant populations based on sex, gender, race/ethnicity, and geography

4. Advise the WSF on new data-driven priorities that can be leveraged to have optimal media impact, myth busting, advocacy, programming and policy-related outcomes.

5. By 2014 SHARP will have diversified sources of funding to support research by developing collaborations and partnerships with foundations, governments, and public and private sector agencies.